Three years ago, on Jan. 1, 2008, my wife Beth and I became the majority owners of The Ulum Group. During those 36 months, a lot of things have changed.

Some of our staff members have had babies, others have moved on — all of us have gotten a little older. Our client base changed a bit, too. The economy danced a new version of the “Laffer curve” that wasn’t all that funny, and we had the opportunity to get a lot smarter. Of course, MySpace was hot then and, well, now it’s not.

So with the start of a new year and a new decade, we thought the time was right to add one more new development into the mix and change our name from The Ulum Group to Vox Public Relations Public Affairs.

Why do this when, to some in Eugene-Springfield, The Ulum Group is a brand name like Coke or Nike?

The answer is simple: In 2008, I told Jenny Ulum, the founder of our firm, that at some point I would give her back her name. Since then, she hasn’t asked, but the time is right, and after all, it has been three years since she moved on to her current assignment at PeaceHealth! She is a valuable colleague, business partner and friend, and while we are doing business as Vox, we will have an office for her as long as she would like one.

Locally, many people know what an “Ulum” is, but what is a “Vox”? Latin for voice, it’s a word that sums up who we are. It emerged after many staff discussions, some guidance from Jason Halstead of View Design and much thought. As we considered a new name, it became clear that what we do is give voice to our clients’ messages through the proper communications channels in order to directly connect with their key audiences. With that, Vox Public Relations Public Affairs became the name.

The firm continues to provide strategic public relations and public affairs counsel, as well as integrated program planning, implementation and evaluation — including research, social and traditional media relations, crisis communications, lobbying and advocacy, community relations, public involvement, employee relations, association management, collateral material development/writing and special events management.

Our offices remain at 941 Oak St. in Eugene and in the Pearl District in Portland. The phone numbers remain the same. The web address is www.voxprpa.com and our e-mail addresses consist of the first letter of a person’s first name followed by their whole last name @voxprpa.com (e.g. pwalsh@voxprpa.com). If you use our Ulum e-mail addresses, we will still receive your message.

Over the last 15 years, Jenny and The Ulum Group team established a high standard for quality and excellence in our work, and we prided ourselves on our commitment to our communities. We may be Vox Public Relations Public Affairs, but our loyalty to those founding principles has not changed.

Thank you for the opportunity to work with you! We look forward to the achievements and challenges ahead. As we enter the second decade of the century, all of us at Vox Public Relations Public Affairs/The Ulum Group wish you a successful 2011 and continued prosperity in the years to come!